Debate: Terrorist or freedom fighter?

INTRODUCTION
“One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.” This quote is a well-known one – with the on-going conflict around the world, the debate surrounding this quote is more fervent than ever. While the West has categorically labelled those fighting for the Islamic State and other similar groups as terrorists, for others, they are freedom fighters. The question is though, which of these beliefs is correct, or do both have grounds?

IDEOLOGIES
Western and Eastern ideologies play a big part in this overall debate. While the West is firmly in the modern day, offering an opportunity and a better life for many, the East appears at times to be in the dark ages, often medieval with some of their rules and regulations. As mentioned, there are a host of conflicts going on at the moment – the on-going conflict in Iraq and Syria, the battle in the Congo and also the Nigerian encounter.

TERRORISTS?
To take an example – the Islamic State – formally known as ISIS or ISIL. During their bid to claim large swathes of Iraq and Syria, forming a “caliphate”, they have left a bloody trail behind, killing thousands. Without doubt, this has been an act of evil. While they suggest that they do this in the name of religion, no religion can condone the acts of violence we have seen in recent months. There have been so many victims of the advancement of the Islamic State. When the West designates an organisation like this as a terrorist group, there are always grounds to do this.

Perhaps the biggest signifier that they are terrorists is their sickening videos they have released through their Al-Furqan media arm. Many journalists, even some aid workers – all innocent bystanders in the conflict, have been murdered in cold blood, before putting their families through the pain of releasing a video of the act. While these videos have been released in their dozens, we are yet to see a video of Barack Obama or any leading authority figure from the West engaging in such a brutal act. The US continue to help the Iraqi and Syrian civilians in trying to halt the advance of the Islamic State, however there is only a certain amount they can do.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS?
While the obvious idea is that those that take part in these mass executions, suicide bombings and despicable videos are terrorists, it would be unfair to not analyse the other side of the story. A freedom fighter is defined as a “person engaged in a resistance movement against what they believe to be an oppressive and illegitimate government.” When applying this to Syria – you could suggest that the Islamic State can fit this category. The Assad regime have been known to not treated their civilians well.

The Nigerian group Boko Haram have also labelled themselves’ freedom fighters. They bid to impose sharia law in Nigeria. Their name translates close to “Western Education is forbidden.” One thing is for certain – it is unfair to deny children the right to an education – no freedom fighters would be doing this. But it is only to fair to an extent to consider terrorist groups freedom fighters – after all, many consider them to be.

OVERALL
In conclusion, this is a topic very much open to opinion. From a Western perspective, it is clear that these organisations are terrorist-related. No politically-correct group would go round killing masses in sickening executions. The Islamic State are an ideal example of how a group can be designated terrorist. What is important to remember is that these groups do have support, whether those who support them have had their mind-warped is a question for another day, but to some, they are freedom fighters. However overall, it is hard to justify the acts of terrorist groups around the world, with their designation as a terrorist group surely correct.

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Photo of the Year: Worldpress Exhibition 2014

Today I visited the Worldpress Exhibition for “Photo of the Year” in London Southbank. Although I haven’t ever been to such an exhibition as this one, I have to say it was an interesting experience – it also made me think a lot about life in general, having seen the artwork.

The exhibition was made up of 143 award-winning photographs from the World Press Photo. Each year there is much interest in the event, with many descending upon the Southbank to witness the event. The event has been running annually since 1955. This year, there were a record number of 5,754 photographers, representing 132 countries, between them submitting 98,671 pictures. To narrow 98,671 to 143 required much analysis, but also ensured that the images were certainly worth a look.

Many of the images were harrowing – there were images of conflict, despair, homes being destroyed and more. There were also some environmental-based photos which caught the eye. I saw the conflict in the Central African Republic – I wasn’t event aware such conflict was going on. However seeing an event, or set of pictures, like I witnessed today, made me appreciate how fortunate many people are. So many people take for granted menial things, but seeing the emotion of those caught up in the conflicts showed made me realise what a huge difference location makes.

Perhaps the image that was attracting most attention was the one below. An image of a Mother protecting her two children during the Westgate shopping mall attack.

I wonder what was going through the woman’s mind. Knowing that she and her children had a very high chance of death, it is commendable. The three later escaped unharmed, but it was another reminder of what a horrible act the attack was. But there are so many attacks like this one happening everywhere.

Overall the exhibition was a good visit, I learned a lot, was taken back by a lot, and overall, was kept interested throughout the viewing of the 100 plus photos. Anyone who has the chance to visit the exhibition should, I think it makes great viewing. Perhaps what I learned the most was that life needs to be appreciated – so many lives have been lost in the various conflicts, we need to make the most of our lives.

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(‘023’)

Reviewing Images: What does this one Suggest?

I stumbled across this image earlier, it made me think immediately about the different conflict around the world, it is unbelievable really to think about these numbers.

Thirteen years have passed since 9/11 and honestly – what has changed? The West is still plagued with fear over what damage Islamic militants could cause. In the last couple of months we have seen a new terrorist group – ISIS, claim large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, establishing a “caliphate”. Thirteen years ago it was Al-Qaeda, it is clear that times haven’t actually changed all that much. It is a shame really, there is no reason to wonder why, but so many lives have been lost in that time.

To think almost 3,000 people died in 9/11 is terrible. 3,000 people who had family, many of which had children, wives, husbands. To think that so many lives were ruined just because of this one event. Then there are all of the millions of lives’ that have been lost in conflicts around the world since then. That is where some of the other figures come from. The image suggests that perhaps due to 9/11 the other lives have been lost, how fair that is, that is open to opinion.

9/11 was a horrific terrorist act, to think that terrorist actions like this are happening as we speak is terrible, yet more lives will be lost as people strive for power. You wonder when will it end, probably never. But thirteen years on from 9/11, it is a time to remember the brave souls that lost their lives on that day, plus all those who have struggled as a result of the event. RIP to all those who lost their lives in 9/11.

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(‘016’)

World Conflict: Will it ever end?

There is a considerable amount of conflict around the world at the moment. There is the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, militants around the world waging war against civilians – among them the Boko Haram militant group in Nigeria. Then there is the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, while one of the conflicts heavily in the news at the moment is the advancement of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. Some of the acts that have taken place in recent weeks and months border on barbaric. How is it that after all of this time on Earth, there is still mass conflict around the world, it affects so many people.

It is extremely unfair that it seems to be the civilians who suffer the most. Through no fault of their own, they are being caught up in horrible situations and are in no safe situation. In Iraq at the moment members of the Yazidi community have had to flee their homes to go and seek refuge on a mountain range. Thankfully US forces are flying in aid to help limit the damage. It isn’t right that people are being persecuted for what they believe in. The Islamic State (IS) have caused an unbelievable amount of deaths, releasing gruesome, harrowing videos of some of the murders. There were so many innocent people caught up in the conflict, woman and children as well. It is not fair that IS haven’t given a chance to some people just because what they believe in. They have been responsible for some cowardly actions, this particular conflict shows no sign of ending any time soon.

Then there are other conflicts as well around the world. Ukrainian rebels allegedly shooting down a full-airplane – what did the 300 or so passengers on board do to deserve being shot down? It isn’t just the victims that suffer either – it is all of the families of the victims as well. It simply isn’t fair that there is so much evil in the world.

As sad as it is it doesn’t look like any time soon the conflict around the world will stop. When people are born they are born with a fresh slate – no one is born evil. But there is obviously a lot of hate around the world at the moment – things don’t show any sign of getting any better. The fact that so many lives have been lost in recent times underlines the problem – but realistically there isn’t a lot that can be done. However in the future, there is always the chance that perhaps things will get better – for the good of the human race, I certainly hope that things do get better. Realistically though – this isn’t going to happen any time soon.

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